Printed circuit (P.C.) boards are extensively used in a variety of electronic applications. P.C. boards enjoy wide application, in the field of telecommunications, such as for example, in telephone switching centers where large numbers of P.C. boards are mounted in parallel relation on accommodating racks. It is desirable that the P.C. be mounted as closely adjacent to one another as possible in order to conserve floor and rack space. Close spacing also affords certain practical operating advantages. Further the electronic components generally used in, or in conjunction with, P.C. boards are of relatively small size both in the horizontal and vertical dimensions.
Transformers are frequently mounted on a P.C. board. Such transformers have generally been the components on a P.C. board having the largest vertical dimension; that is, the dimension perpendicular to the plane or surface of the P.C. board. Hence the transformer is the component that determines the minimum spacing between adjacent P.C. boards. Stated in other words, present transformers are of considerably higher dimensions than the integrated circuit chips (IC's), transistors, capacitors, and other components used with the P.C. boards, and accordingly the transformers have been the critical space factor in the mounting of P.C. boards.